Euro hits two-month low on Greece woes

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — The euro dropped to its lowest level in almost two months against the dollar on Monday over renewed uncertainty about Greece’s next tranche of bailout money, while investors also remained cautious ahead of the U.S. presidential election.

The ICE dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of six currencies, rose to 80.724 from 80.600 in late North American trade on Friday.

The euro slumped to $1.2794 from $1.2829. The shared currency hasn’t closed below $1.28 since Sept. 11, according to FactSet.

Worries over Greece weighed on the 17-nation shared currency ahead of a parliamentary vote on a round of tax hikes and budget cuts demanded by the country’s troika of international lenders — the European Central Bank, the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund. A failure to meet the requirements puts the next tranche of Greece’s bailout money at risk.

“Also, some traders sniff that the euro might now finally be headed lower after trading below the $1.28-$1.32 range that has contained the euro since mid-September,” said Michael Derks, chief strategist at FxPro, in emailed comments.

On Tuesday, the U.S. presidential election is held, with polls showing a tight race between President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. Official results will not be available until trading opens in Asia Wednesday.

U.S. economic data had little effect on trading. The dollar pared gains after the Institute for Supply Management’s index on the services sector of the U.S. economy fell to 54.1 in October from 55.5 in the prior month.

Among other currencies, the dollar fell to 80.29 against the Japanese yen from ¥80.40 Friday.

Euro hits two-month low on Greece woes

By Deborah Levine

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — The euro dropped to its lowest level in almost two months against the dollar on Monday over renewed uncertainty about Greece’s next tranche of bailout money, while investors also remained cautious ahead of the U.S. presidential election.

The ICE dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of six currencies, rose to 80.724 from 80.600 in late North American trade on Friday.

The euro slumped to $1.2794 from $1.2829. The shared currency hasn’t closed below $1.28 since Sept. 11, according to FactSet.

Worries over Greece weighed on the 17-nation shared currency ahead of a parliamentary vote on a round of tax hikes and budget cuts demanded by the country’s troika of international lenders — the European Central Bank, the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund. A failure to meet the requirements puts the next tranche of Greece’s bailout money at risk.

“Also, some traders sniff that the euro might now finally be headed lower after trading below the $1.28-$1.32 range that has contained the euro since mid-September,” said Michael Derks, chief strategist at FxPro, in emailed comments.

On Tuesday, the U.S. presidential election is held, with polls showing a tight race between President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. Official results will not be available until trading opens in Asia Wednesday.

U.S. economic data had little effect on trading. The dollar pared gains after the Institute for Supply Management’s index on the services sector of the U.S. economy fell to 54.1 in October from 55.5 in the prior month.

Among other currencies, the dollar fell to 80.29 against the Japanese yen from ¥80.40 Friday.